Partnerships

ESnet engages in active international collaborations with partners from the Research and Education (R&E) community as well as industry. This exchange of ideas provides the necessary input to develop advanced software and services targeted towards the express needs of scientists and technical community that supports them. Our collaborations focus on operational relationships as well as research and development.

When scientists exchange data or access remote instrumentation, chances are the data will cross several networks. While invisible to the end-user, smooth passage requires that different networks interoperate seamlessly. To constantly improve the end-user experience and the effectiveness of our operations, we need to coordinate closely with other networks on providing and managing common services.

ESnet has maintained a close relationship over the years with R&E network Internet2 to develop a production network. ESnet also is a member of the DICE working group, composed of Internet2, DANTE, USLHCnet (the high speed network for the Large Hadron Collider community), and CANARIE, which is implementing a strategic initiative on trans-Atlantic cooperation. ESnet also engages in collaborations with R&E networks around the world to conduct networking research and development and deploy production level services; current partners include SURFnet, NORDUnet, and USLHCnet.

perfSONAR

To gain wide adoption, networking software must meet the specialized requirements of various groups. This requires feedback and ideas from the scientific and technical community. To facilitate this exchange, we commonly release software we develop as open source whenever possible, making it available and useful to the greater community. For example, perfSONAR, a software tool to monitor network performance across multiple domains was initially developed through the GEANT-Internet2-ESnet-RNP collaboration. Presently perfSONAR is deployed in over 100 locations around the world to diagnose and pinpoint causes of network problems.

OSCARS

ESnet currently collaborates on the next versions of OSCARS open-source software development with R&E networks including Internet2, GEANT (a pan-European backbone R&E network), NORDUnet, and and USLHCnet. We also contribute to technical work performed in the GLIF Consortium and have led the GNI API and Fenius virtual circuit interoperability efforts. OSCARS virtual circuit services comply with the Inter-Domain Controller Protocol (IDCP) developed by the DANTE, Internet2, CANARIE, and the ESnet (DICE) Control Plane working group, which facilitates the setting up of end-to-end circuits across multiple domains by defining a messaging scheme to request guaranteed bandwidth virtual circuits. ESnet's OSCARS virtual circuits are now a production service, utilized by more R&E networks than any comparable software.

LHCONE

LHCONE is an overlay on the R&E network infrastructure in Europe, N. America, and SE Asia. The goal of LHCONE is to provide a private virtual infrastructure for the LHC Tier 1-2-3 traffic in order to improve LHC site connectivity and to provide an engineered infrastructure so that the LHC traffic can be managed in such a way that t does not interfere with other R&E traffic.

LHCONE has evolved in several ways since it's inception and is now a collection of interconnected VRFs that cover most LHC sites.

General information about LHCONE may be found at lhcone.net and the current network configuration is located at ESnet's LHCONE page.